Timbers on Campus: Timbers Academy alumni helping college teams down the stretch

As the collegiate men’s soccer season begins to wrap up, several former Timbers Academy players are putting in solid minutes as their respective programs get set for conference tournaments and, potentially, an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.

Freshman defender Ben White earned his sixth consecutive start for a young Gonzaga University side in a scoreless draw with Loyola Marymount on Nov. 2. A product of the Timbers Academy, White stepped right into the Gonzaga lineup this season and leads all Zags freshman in starts (14) and ranks third overall on the team in minutes played. Gonzaga faces St. Mary’s (Calif.) on the road on Friday sitting just two points off second place in the West Coast Conference.

Utah Valley University goalkeeper Colin Partee earned his second shutout of the season, making three saves for Utah Valley in a 3-0 win over Houston Baptist on Nov. 2. Partee moved up to 12th overall in the nation with a .836 save percentage and is the only freshman ranked in the top 15 nationally in save percentage. The Wolverines have conceded a Western Athletic Conference-low 12 goals while Partee has compiled a 6-5-2 record with two shutouts. Utah Valley has two matches remaining on the regular-season schedule, against Bakersfield (Friday) and San Jose State (Sunday) on the road before the WAC Tournament kicks off on Nov. 13.

Akron is eyeing another strong performance heading into the MAC tournament in a bid to defend their 2013 conference title. Midfielder Jesse Garcia-Aguilar earned his 11th start this season in a 1-0 loss to Penn State on Nov. 5, while forward Anthony Macchione has featured in 14 matches and defender Niko De Vera has made two appearances for the Zips. Akron sits atop the conference standings on nine points with a single match left to play against Buffalo on Nov. 8.

Stanford has an opportunity to leapfrog Washington in the Pacific-12 Conference standings when the two teams meet on Nov. 7. Former Timbers U-18s forward Foster Langsdorf has featured in the last nine matches for the Cardinal, most recently coming off the bench in a 1-0 overtime win over San Diego State on Nov. 2. Currently in third place, Stanford is a point behind second place Washington and Cal-Berkeley, which are tied on 13 points with three matches remaining.

At the NAIA level, forward Timur Zhividze was named Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season after scoring for a sixth-straight match in Concordia’s 5-0 win over the College of Idaho on Nov. 1 to clinch the CCC Championship. Overall, Zhividze has registered 12 goals and six assists and is tied for the conference lead with 30 points. The former Timbers U-18s forward is also ranked second in several offensive categories, including goals, assists, and game-winning goals (6).